The Third Temple

The minister preaches from 2 Kings 7:3-6, using the account of four leprous men at the gate of Samaria during a severe famine. The city is starving, besieged by the Syrians. The lepers, unclean and excluded, reason that if they stay where they are they will die, and if they go into the city they will also die. So they decide to go to the Syrian camp, where there is at least a chance they might be spared. When they arrive, God has already caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a great army and flee, leaving behind everything—food, silver, garments. The lepers eat and then return to tell the city the good news. The minister argues that God often uses the broken, the overlooked, and those society rejects to bring deliverance. He applies this personally, testifying that he was once far from God, addicted, and broken, but God found him and used him. The sermon calls listeners to stop listening to the enemy's lies that they are too far gone or unusable. God can use anyone who will humble themselves and receive the Holy Ghost. The minister also presents the gospel plainly: repentance, baptism in Jesus' name for the remission of sins, and reception of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He urges the broken to come to the altar, not seeking the sign but seeking the Holy Ghost Himself, and let God use them.